(1863); =Blanf.= Zool. Abyss. p. 261, pl. i. fig. 5 (horns)
(1870); =Brooke=, P. Z. S. 1873, p. 543; =Kohl=, Ann. Mus. Wien,
i. p. 77, pls. iii., iv. fig. 3, & v. fig. 1 (animal & skull)
(1886); =Thos.= P. Z. S. 1891, p. 210; =W. Scl.= Cat. Mamm.
Calc. Mus. ii. p. 158 (1891); Scl. P. Z. S. 1892, pp. 100 & 118;
=Swayne=, P. Z. S. 1892, p. 306; =Ward=, Horn Meas. (1) p. 112
(1892), (2) p. 153 (1896); Lyd. Horns and Hoofs, p. 234 (1893);
=Swayne=, Somaliland, p. 316 (fig., head) (1895); =Hoyos=,
Aulihan, p. 179, pl. x. fig. 3 (1895); =Elliot=, Publ. Chicago
Mus., Zool. i. p. 120 (1897); Scl. P. Z. S. 1897, p. 920 (fig.,
head).
_Gazella_, sp. inc., =Lort Phillips=, P. Z. S. 1885, p. 932.
_Gazella naso_, =Scl.= P. Z. S. 1886, p. 504, pl. li. (head);
=id.= in James’s Unknown Horn of Africa, p. 268, pl. iii. (1888).
VERNACULAR NAME:--_Dhero_ of Somalis (_Swayne_).
Size slightly greater than in _G. dorcas_; height at withers 23–24
inches. Body pale brownish fawn, the light lateral band but little
paler than the back, then dark or dull blackish, not sharply defined.
Central facial band brownish fawn; top of muzzle, over nasal bones,
with a distinct blackish patch, in front of which there is a peculiar
swollen and corrugated cushion of skin raised up above the level of the
face, and extensible at the pleasure of the animal. Dark cheek-band
narrow, indistinct, the light band above it broad and extending to
the muzzle. Ears long, narrow, pointed, their backs whitish fawn.
Knee-tufts present, brownish fawn. Pygal band very indistinct.
Skull with short broad nasals, the premaxillæ not or barely touching
their outer corners. Basal length in an old male 6·5 inches, greatest
breadth 3·35, muzzle to orbit 3·6.
Horns but slightly divergent, evenly and strongly curved backwards for
three-fourths their length, their tips gently recurved upwards.
_Female._ Like the male, but the horns slender, little ridged,
less curved, about three-fourths the length of those of the male.
_Hab._ Interior Plateau of Somaliland.
There can be no doubt that the two Gazelles which inhabit the maritime
plain and the high inland plateau of Somaliland respectively, although
they are closely allied, and have been confused together by some
writers, belong to distinct species, distinguishable by well-marked
characters. The Gazelle of the interior plateau, which we treat
of first, when compared with that of the coast-land is at once
recognizable by the generally browner colour, the darker lateral band,
the black nose-spot, and above all by the wrinkled and elevated nose of
the adult, which is not met with in the sister species.
Speke’s Gazelle was first discovered by the energetic African
explorer, whose name it appropriately bears, during his expedition
to Harar in the summer of 1854 in company with the late Capt. Sir
Richard Burton[10]. Speke, who attended to the natural history of
the expedition, forwarded the collections made upon this occasion
to Blyth, at that time curator of the Asiatic Society’s Museum at
Calcutta, and in the zenith of his zoological work. In his report upon
the collection, which was published in the twenty-fourth volume of
the ‘Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,’ Blyth did not venture
to bestow a new name on this Gazelle, although he gave an accurate
description of it, and added a note (obtained from Burton) calling
special attention to “the elevation of loose replicated skin upon the
nose,” so that there can be no doubt as to which of the two allied
species Speke’s specimens (which are still in the Calcutta Museum[11])
belong.
In the reprint of Blyth’s ‘Report,’ which was edited by Speke in
1860 after his return to this country, this Gazelle was erroneously
referred to _G. cuvieri_ of Ogilby. In 1883, however, Blyth, who
had discovered that this was a mistake, proposed the name _Gazella
spekei_ for this species in his ‘Catalogue of the Mammals of the
Asiatic Society’s Museum,’ and this appellation has been generally
adopted for it ever since.
When the late Sir Victor Brooke wrote his Monograph of the Gazelles in
1873 Speke’s Gazelle was hardly known in this country, and Brooke was
only acquainted with it from photographs of the type specimens in the
Calcutta Museum. But since that date Somaliland has been fully opened
to British travellers, and the numerous explorers and sportsmen who
have visited that much-hunted country have brought back good sets of
specimens both of Speke’s and of Pelzeln’s Gazelle, and made us well
acquainted with the ranges and other peculiarities of these two species.
One of the first British travellers who visited Somaliland, and
made the acquaintance of Speke’s Gazelle, was the late Mr. F. L.
James, who proceeded there on a shooting-expedition in January 1884,
accompanied by his brother and Mr. E. Lort Phillips[12]. Mr. Lort
Phillips read some notes on the Antelopes obtained on this occasion
before the Zoological Society in December 1885, and in alluding to this
Gazelle called it the “_Flabby-nosed Gazelle_,” to which term Sclater
attached a footnote stating that it was “probably of a new species,”
but required further examination. This examination Sclater bestowed
upon Mr. Lort Phillips’s specimens shortly afterwards (see P. Z. S.
1886, p. 504), and came to the correct conclusion that the so-called
Flabby-nosed Gazelle was quite distinct from the species of the coast
land. He unfortunately did not perceive that it was the species of the
high plateau and not that of the coast land, which had already been
named _Gazella spekei_ by Blyth, and therefore gave it a new name,
_Gazella naso_, under which appellation it will be found described and
its characteristic head figured in Sclater’s article in the Zoological
Society’s ‘Proceedings’ for 1886. But, as Thomas has subsequently shown
(P. Z. S. 1891, p. 210), there can be no doubt that _Gazella naso_ is
merely a synonym of _Gazella spekei_.
Another well-known author, who must not fail to be quoted in any
reference to the game animals of Somaliland, is Capt. H. G. C. Swayne,
R.E. Capt. Swayne has made no less than seventeen trips to that
attractive country, and is probably better acquainted with its larger
mammals than any other living individual. In his excellent narrative
of his adventures[13], Capt. Swayne has given us some capital notes on
Speke’s Gazelle and its near ally Pelzeln’s Gazelle, both of which are
known to the natives by the same name “_Dhero_.”
[Illustration: Fig. 62.
Head of adult male Speke’s Gazelle.
(Brit. Mus.)]
Capt. Swayne calls the former Antelope the “_Ogo_, or Plateau Gazelle,”
and the latter the “_Guban_, or Lowland Gazelle,” and describes the
peculiarities of the present species as follows:--
“The Plateau Gazelle, which has the ridges of loose skin
over the nose well developed, inhabits the elevated country,
commencing about thirty-five miles inland. It is found south
of Gólis, in Ogo and in the Haud, as well as in Ogo-Gudan, the
country near Hargeisa where Guban rises gradually into Ogo.
“I have shot large numbers of Gazelles for food at various
times, and have always noticed that the plateau variety has a
much thicker and longer coat than the other. This is possibly
the result of natural selection, as the high plains of the Ogo
and the Haud, where it lives, are subject to sweeping cold
winds, and the nights are very cold indeed. The altitude of
these plains inhabited by the Plateau Gazelle is from three
thousand to over six thousand feet, but doubtless they go
much lower towards Ogádén. The great steppe of Gólis, with
its prolongations east and west, which rises some forty miles
inland, and separates Guban, the low coast country, from Ogo,
the high interior country, forms the natural line of demarcation
between these two Gazelles.”
[Illustration: Fig. 63.
Head of adult female Speke’s Gazelle.
(Mr. F. Gillett, F.Z.S.)]
A still more recent explorer of Somaliland, Mr. A. E. Pease, M.P.,
F.Z.S., has most kindly favoured us with some excellent notes on
Speke’s Gazelle and its sister species, which we cannot do better than
reproduce. Mr. Pease has also sent us along with his MS. remarks a
sketch-map of the northern part of Somaliland, in which the ranges of
these two species are accurately shown.
He writes as follows:--
“Speke’s Gazelle is called ‘Dhero’ by the Somalis, who do not
distinguish it by name from _Gazella pelzelni_. It is a
‘Dhero,’ just as the other, and yet there is no Somali shikari
or any other observer who cannot discriminate at a glance
between these two very distinct species--distinct in colour,
size, horns, and habitat, whilst the peculiar nose, covered with
soft pliable folds of loose skin, of the _G. spekei_ is
alone sufficient to mark it as a species apart.
“The Speke’s or Plateau Gazelle has been termed the Mountain
Gazelle by some writers; but it is not strictly a mountain
Gazelle, but one that frequents the higher plains and low
foot-hills north and south of the Golis. But with its
distribution I will deal later.
“In colour the Speke’s Gazelles are much darker than Pelzeln’s
Gazelles, the predominating colour in life being a rich
strong burnt-sienna buff, distinctly darker over the back.
The side-stripes are very dark brown, strongly marked, and
maintaining their depth of colour to the edge of the white under
the ribs and belly. The tail is a dark reddish brown, and the
colour on the quarters towards the tail is of a deeper shade.
The coat, though fine in texture, is very long for a Gazelle,
being sometimes fully two inches long on the withers, and the
stern is heavily feathered with long white hair. Altogether it
is one of the most beautifully coloured of all the Gazelles.
The head is also strongly marked, the deep dark brown patch
on the nose and the tear-mark sprinkled with dark hairs are
very distinctive. The enlargement of the nose is covered with
three or four folds of loose pliable skin. The horns are more
curved back and forward towards the tips than those of Pelzeln’s
Gazelle, and on the average do not reach to quite the same
length as in that species. Twelve inches along the curve would
be an abnormally long horn for _G. spekei_, whilst this
measurement is not uncommon in Pelzeln’s Gazelle. The female is
very slightly lighter in colour, and has weak horns, reaching
to about 9 inches in old ones, with slight indications of the
annulations, which are deep and strong in the male.
“This Gazelle I have observed in large numbers on both sides of
the Golis range. I have seen it in bands numbering from fifteen
to twenty on the plateaux behind (S. of) Gan Libah and Dunanoof.
In the Gadabursi country, on the northern limits of the Haud,
west of Lija Uri, I have seen them frequently in small bands
of from five to eight, and herds of this size may be said to
be the rule in the zone north of the Golis Range and south of
the Maritime Plain. I cannot call to mind having seen them much
further south than the grass plains of Toyo, but there I have
observed them mixed up with the Aoul or Soemmerring’s Gazelle.
“I should put down the height of this Gazelle at about 24
inches, and its weight, when living, at about 40 pounds.”
So far as we know, but one specimen of Speke’s Gazelle has as yet
reached this country alive. This was a young male, presented to the
Zoological Society’s Menagerie in November last year by Dr. L. de
Gébert, who had obtained it at Djibutil, the French port of Abyssinia.
Unfortunately it did not live long in captivity, but after its death
Sclater, with Mr. F. E. Beddard’s kind assistance, was able to examine
the specimen more closely. It exhibited a slight protuberance on the
nose, as shown in the figure (fig. 64), which by the kindness of the
Zoological Society we are enabled to reproduce on the present occasion.
Underneath the skin of the nose was a slight cavity, which was easily
inflated into a protuberance by blowing air into the nostrils. But
dissection, which was carried out by Mr. Beddard, revealed no trace of
any glandular structure.
[Illustration: Fig. 64.
Head of young male Speke’s Gazelle.
(P. Z. S. 1897, p. 920.)]
The collection of the British Museum contains a good mounted example
of this Gazelle (procured from Herr Menges, and originally obtained
from Gerbatir in Somaliland), from which the coloured figure (Plate
LXI.) has been prepared by Mr. Smit. There is likewise in the Museum
a good series of skins and skulls from different places in Somaliland
collected and presented by Mr. T. W. H. Clarke, Capt. H. G. C. Swayne,
R.E., Col. Arthur Paget, and Mr. Ford G. Barclay. From one of these our
figure (p. 128) of a good adult head of this Gazelle has been prepared
by Mr. Smit; while that of the female (p. 129) has been drawn from
a mounted head kindly lent to us for that purpose by Mr. Frederick
Gillett, F.Z.S.
_May,_ 1898.
[Illustration:
THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES, PL. LXII.
_J. Smit lith._ _Hanhart imp._
Pelzeln’s Gazelle.
GAZELLA PELZELNI.
_Published by R. H. Porter._]
92. PELZELN’S GAZELLE.
GAZELLA PELZELNI, KOHL.
[PLATE LXII.]
_Gazella spekei_, =Scl.= P. Z. S. 1884, p. 540; =Lort Phillips=,
P. Z. S. 1885, p. 931 (_nec_ Blyth).
_Gazella pelzelni_, =Kohl=, SB. zool.-bot. Ges. Wien, 1886,
p. 4; =id.= Ann. Mus. Wien, i. p. 76, pls. iii. & iv. fig. 1
(animal & skull) (1886); =Thos.= P. Z. S. 1891, p. 211; =Scl.=
P. Z. S. 1892, pp. 100 & 118; =Swayne=, P. Z. S. 1892, p. 306;
=Ward=, Horn Meas. (1) p. 113 (1892), (2) p. 155 (1896); =Lyd.=
Horns and Hoofs, p. 238 (1893); =Swayne=, Somaliland, p. 316
(fig., head) (1895); =Hoyos=, Aulihan, p. 178, pl. x. fig. 1
(1895); =Elliot=, Publ. Chicago Mus. Zool. i. p. 119 (1897).
VERNACULAR NAME:--_Dhero_ of Somalis (in common with the last
species) (_Swayne_).
Size rather greater than in _G. spekei_; height at withers
about 25 inches. Colour brownish fawn, rather more rufous than _G.
spekei_. Light lateral band distinct; dark band rufous brown,
similar to that of the back but rather darker in tone, not blackish.
Pygal band distinct, brown. Centre of face dark fawn, without either
the black spot or the pale swollen cushion characteristic of _G.
spekei_. Dark and light cheek-bands short and indistinct. Knee-tufts
dark brown.
Skull narrower than in _G. spekei_, and with long narrow nasals,
which articulate broadly with the premaxillæ. Basal length in an old
male 6·87 inches, greatest breadth 3·25, muzzle to orbit 3·75.
Horns more evenly divergent, much straighter and less curved backwards
than in _G. spekei_, but otherwise similar. In length they attain
to about 11 or 12 inches.
_Female._ Like the male, but the horns much smoother and
slenderer, and only about three-fourths the length.
_Hab._ Maritime plains of Northern Somaliland.
As we have already mentioned in our account of the last species, the
late Mr. F. L. James and his party, who visited Somaliland in 1884,
appear to have been the first to bring to England examples of the two
allied Gazelles of Somaliland. Unfortunately, however, though perhaps
not unnaturally, Sclater, who assisted Mr. E. Lort Phillips in the
determination of the Mammals obtained during that expedition, referred
the coast-land specimens to _Gazella spekei_, and described
the examples from the high plateau as belonging to a new species,
_Gazella naso_. About two years later, however, this error was
corrected by Herr H. F. Kohl, of the Natural History Museum of Vienna,
who, in an article upon new and rare Antelopes collected by Herr L.
Menges in Somaliland, among which examples of both these Gazelles were
comprised, rightly referred the upland species to _Gazella spekei_
of Blyth and gave to the lowland species, then still unnamed, the
title of _Gazella pelzelni_, after the late August von Pelzeln,
a well-known naturalist, who was at that time Custos of the Imperial
Museum of Natural History.
Thomas, in his article on the Antelopes collected in Somaliland by Mr.
T. W. H. Clarke, published in the Zoological Society’s ‘Proceedings’
for 1891, was the first to make this matter perfectly clear, and to
establish the name _Gazella pelzelni_ as the permanent designation
of the coast-land Gazelle of Somaliland. Since that date the
distinctions between the two allied species have become well recognized
and understood, and numerous examples of both species have been
obtained by the naturalists and sportsmen who have recently visited
that country.
Capt. Swayne, in his well-known work on Somaliland and its wild animals
(from which, by the kind permission of Messrs. Rowland Ward & Co.,
the publishers, we have been allowed to borrow illustrations of the
heads of both sexes of this Gazelle), tells us that the “short-coated,
light-coloured Lowland Gazelle” carries rather longer horns than those
of the Plateau Gazelle (_Gazella spekei_), which are “shorter,
thicker, more curved, and better annulated.” “The habits of both,” he
continues, “are nearly alike; they go in moderate-sized herds of from
three to ten, and resort mostly to stony or sandy undulating ground
or ravines thinly dotted over with mimosas. Both species are fond of
salt and do not require water. It is hard to understand what they can
pick up to eat in the wretched ground which they frequent. They have a
curiosity which amounts almost to impudence, but are wonderfully on
the alert, and hard to shoot, seeming to know perfectly well the range
of a rifle, and presenting but a very small target.”
Capt. R. Light, writing to Sclater in 1892, tells us that when he
visited Somaliland in 1891 he found this Gazelle between Berbera and
Zeila, close down by the sea: “they were often observed feeding side by
side with camels and flocks of sheep and goats. When startled they move
off the ground in a quick trot, taking bounds over any obstacles and
finally breaking into a gallop.”
[Illustration: Fig. 65.
Head of Pelzeln’s Gazelle, ♂.]
[Illustration: Fig. 65_a_.
Skull of Pelzeln’s Gazelle, ♀.]
(From Swayne’s ‘Somaliland,’ p. 317.)
Mr. Pease, who has kindly supplied us with notes on this Gazelle as
well as on the preceding species, writes that Pelzeln’s Gazelle is
essentially the species of the maritime plain and could be seen within
shot of the town of Bulhar when he was there in 1896, and within a
mile or so of Berbera. “In life it appears of a light rich yellow-buff
in colour, with the usual Gazelline marks rather faintly indicated.
Its coat is short and fine, and its horns are straighter and longer
than those of _G. spekei_. The horns of the female are weak and
almost smooth, like those of Speke’s Gazelle.” “Within fifty miles of
the sea-shore,” he continues, “this Gazelle is exceedingly numerous in
suitable places. Half-a-dozen herds may be often seen at a time, but I
have seldom observed more than twenty in a single band. In size _G.
pelzelni_ is larger than _G. spekei_, the average height being
about 25 inches, while the weight of the carcase is usually a little
over 40 lbs.”
Mr. D. G. Elliot, who made a successful expedition to Somaliland in
1896, for the purpose of obtaining specimens for the Field Columbian
Museum of Chicago, gives us the following account of his experiences
with the present species:--
“This is the Gazelle of the lowlands and is not often seen much
beyond Laferug on the road to Hargeisa, where the following
species begins to make its appearance. It is the larger animal
of the two, and they resemble each other very much in their
habits.
“Pelzeln’s Gazelle frequents dry and stony places, covered
with low bushes, and it is difficult to see where or how it
can obtain sufficient nourishment from the barren, forbidding
districts it inhabits. It goes in small troops of from two or
three to nearly a dozen individuals. I think eleven was the
greatest number I ever saw together at one time. As a rule,
it is not a wild creature and readily permits an approach
sufficiently near to ensure a fatal shot, but of course
when much hunted becomes wary. The males were often seen by
themselves, and then it was not difficult to stalk them. Their
horns are almost straight and annulated nearly to the tips. The
female also carries horns, much straighter and much more slender
than those of the male. There is considerable variation in the
coloring of individuals and I hardly know what causes it. The
typical style has a broad conspicuous chestnut band running
lengthwise along the body just above the white of the belly. But
some individuals, evidently of equal age, killed practically
at the same time and in the same condition of coat, were
entirely without the distinguishing mark. It may be possibly an
exhibition of individual variation, for these specimens were
not confined to any especial locality. I do not think, however,
it was in any way an indication of age, for fully adult animals
were without the stripe, neither was this peculiarity confined
to either sex.”
The British Museum contains a good male specimen of Pelzeln’s Gazelle,
mounted from a skin obtained by Herr Menges near Berbera in Somaliland.
Mr. Smit’s figures of this species (Plate LXII.), which represent the
male in two positions, have been prepared from it. The Museum also
contains two skins from the plains of Berbera, collected by Capt.
Swayne and originally sent home to Sclater.
_May,_ 1898.
[Illustration:
THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES, PL. LXIII.
_J. Smit lith._ _Hanhart imp._
Loder’s Gazelle.
GAZELLA LEPTOCEROS.
_Published by R. H. Porter._]
93. LODER’S GAZELLE.
GAZELLA LEPTOCEROS (F. CUV.).
[PLATE LXIII.]
_Antilope leptoceros_, =Geoffr. St.-Hil. et F. Cuv.= H. N. Mamm.
(fol.) pls. 473, 474, livr. 72 (1842) (Sennaar?); =Wagn.= Schr.
Säug. Suppl. iv. p. 422 (1844), v. p. 407 (1855); =Schinz=, Syn.
Mamm. ii. p. 445 (1845); =id.= Mon. Antil. p. 34, pl. 38 (1848);
=Sund.= Pecora, K. Vet.-Ak. Handl. 1845, p. 269 (1847); =id.=
Hornschuch’s Transl., Arch. Skand. Beitr. ii. p. 265; Reprint,
p. 85 (1848); =Gieb.= Säug. p. 309 (1853); =Heugl.= Reise
N.O.-Afr. ii. p. 100, cum tab. (1877).
_Gazella leptoceros_, =Temm.= Esq. Zool. Guin. p. 193 (1853);
=Brooke=, P. Z. S. 1873, p. 543; =Lyd.= Horns and Hoofs, p. 234
(1893).
_Gazella dorcas_, var. 4, =Gray=, Cat. Ung. B. M. p. 57 (1852).
_Leptoceros abuharab_ et _L. cuvieri_, =Fitz.= SB. Wien, lix.
pt. 1, p. 160 (1869).
_Gazella loderi_, =Thos.= Ann. Mag. N. H. (6) xiii. p. 452
(1894) (Algeria); =id.= P. Z. S. 1894, p. 470, pl. xxxii.
(animal); =Loder=, P. Z. S. 1894, p. 473 (habits); =Scl.=
P. Z. S. 1895, p. 522 (Egypt); =Bramley=, P. Z. S. 1895, p.
863 (Egypt); =Scl.= P. Z. S. 1896, p. 780 (Viv. Soc. Zool.);
=Pease=, P. Z. S. 1896, p. 813 (Algeria); =Whitaker=, P. Z. S.
1896, p. 816 (Tunis); =Ward=, Horn Meas. (2) p. 169 (1896).
VERNACULAR NAMES:--_Abu el harabat_ or _Abu el haráb_ in Arabic
(_Heuglin_); _Reem_ of Arabs in Algeria (_Loder_); _Ghazal
abiad_ (White Gazelle) of Arabs in Tunis and Egypt (_Whitaker &
Bramley_).
Height of male at withers about 25 inches. General colour very pale
sandy fawn, the Gazelline markings little defined. Central facial
band and darker cheek-bands sandy, not rufous, and but little
contrasting with the light facial streaks. Light lateral bands scarcely
perceptible, and the darker ones below them only pale sandy with a
tinge of brownish, as are the pygal bands, neither being much darker
than the general dorsal colour. Ears long, narrow, pointed, pale
whitish buff externally. Tail sandy at base, darkening terminally to
brownish black. Front of fore limbs sandy, of hind limbs whitish;
knee-brushes distinct, but little darker than the general colour. Hoofs
variable in shape, those of specimens from the sandy regions of the
Sahara much elongated, while in other regions they are of the usual
shape.
Skull of normal proportions; premaxillæ broadly articulating with
nasals. Basal length in an old male 6·45 inches, greatest breadth 3·3,
muzzle to orbit 3·6.
Horns of male long, about twice the length of the skull, slender,
closely and heavily ringed nearly to the tip. They are very variable as
to their exact curvature, but are ordinarily rather straighter than in
other species, curving but slightly backwards; they are near together
basally, diverging above, sometimes very widely, so as to make them
resemble divergent horns of _G. granti_ in miniature.
_Female._ Similar to the male, but the horns, although nearly
equally long, are much slenderer and even less curved than in the male.
_Hab._ Sandy tracts of the interior of Algeria, Tunisia,
and Western Egypt, south to Nubia and Sennaar.